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Oro now serves up their Neapolitan pizzas at Alexandra & Ward, at ODEL. It's not a fully-fledged restaurant, just a part of the menu, but the quality is still high!

The only bright spot in the generally cheerless second floor of Liberty Arcade, Oro 1889 continues to hold firm on its promise of authentic Neapolitan pizzas, served in a tasteful and intimate setting. We have never been disappointed by the restaurant, as our previous reviews will testify. Our latest visit on a rainy weekday evening proved to be no different.

Ambience & Service

While the rest of Liberty Arcade—and the second floor in particular—has the rundown air of a mall past its prime, Oro's golden lighting and the flames of the wood-fired oven, visible as you approach the glass-fronted restaurant, are a comforting sight. With roughly eight tables fashioned out of weathered wood, one communal table in the centre and bar-like seating on one corner, it isn't a particularly sprawling space. Yet, filled with quirky touches like a row of filament bulbs attached to old mason jars, exposed brick walls and a map of Italy painted on one wall, it is the sort of restaurant where you settle in quite easily. The warm and professional service of the husband-wife duo that runs the place only adds to its charm.

The Food

Oro's menu is a fairly compact one, featuring roughly six starters and desserts, and roughly double that number of pizzas. It's a small yet well thought out selection, which is executed consistently well.

We started our meal with the aubergines parmigiana (Rs. 650), a classic baked dish that features aubergines, a fresh tomato sauce and the Parmesan cheese (among other cheeses) that lends the dish its name. Unlike other versions we've tried that can get stodgy and heavy, Oro's version had been made with a light hand. The excellent tomato sauce elevated the flavour of the aubergines, and the high quality of the extra virgin olive oil shone through. Scooped up with a piece of the crusty bread, drizzled with the same, grassy olive oil and oregano, the parmigiana was the perfect way to whet our appetite for the main event.

Oro's staple offering is Neapolitan pizza (from Naples in Italy), a style of pizza that is so specialised and traditional that it won official protection from the European Union in 2009. From the strength of the dough and the thickness of the pizza to the size and the toppings, everything about the Neapolitan pizza is different. (Read more about it here.) In our humble assessment, Oro's pizzas come pretty close to the real thing.

Lured by the promise of mushrooms and truffle oil, we ordered the vegetarian San Carlo (R. 1,900), a refreshing change to the predictable landscape of pizzas with a tomato sauce base. Lacking the wetness of the tomato sauce, this pizza don't flop down in the middle like normal Neapolitan pizzas, and held its form well. Cooked just enough to still retain their meaty bite, the mushrooms paired perfectly with the earthy truffle oil. While big fans of the full-bodied muskiness of truffle oil, we enjoyed getting a gentle whiff of it on this pizza, along with the bright fragrance of basil leaves. Subtly crafted yet far from ordinary, this was the sleeper hit of the evening.

The Santa Maria (Rs. 2,000), which featured 'nduja (a spreadable salami that you can slather over bread or pizza), in addition to fresh Italian pork sausage and artichokes, better fit the conventional description of a Neapolitan pizza.

Thick and raised at the edges and thin and wet at the centre, this pizza ably showcased the meatiness of the fresh Italian sausage, which didn't have the fermented tang of most sausages. Yet, after a couple slices, we found that the flavour of the tomato sauce dominated everything else. While we liked the sausage on its own, like the artichokes, it had to concede to second place on this pizza. The construction of the pizza was faultless, but we would have preferred a more assertive flavour.

From the desserts, we chose the Zuccotto (Rs. 600), a long and narrow sliver of ice cream cake featuring Nutella ice cream and vanilla bean ice cream. We couldn't help but notice the boozy aroma of the vanilla bean ice cream, which we were informed was thanks to a non-alcoholic Italian rum aroma that had been added. Just cakey enough to bind the ice creams together, this dessert primarily showcased the excellent quality of the ice cream.

We have expressed our love for Oro's coffee before — and continue to do so. At Rs. 250 for a small thimbleful of coffee, the espresso may seem steeply priced, but it is also one of the best we've tried in the city. Strong, full-bodied and richly aromatic, we highly recommend this one to espresso fiends.

Conclusion

At roughly Rs. 5,000 for a meal for two, it's fair to say that Oro can make a pretty significant dent in your wallet. But the attention to detail, eye for authenticity and confident service combine to ensure that it's a dent you are not likely to regret.

TIP

Bring a bottle of wine, and even better, a date. And ask for the excellent chilli oil to drizzle over your pizza.

Finally a pizzeria in Sri Lanka that does NOT put chicken on the pizza!!! As an Italian living in Kandy, and obsessed with Southern Italy pizza, every time I go to Colombo I try to stop here :-) Keep up the good job and if possible try to open a branch in Kandy, I will be your first client!!! :-)

Finally a pizzeria in Sri Lanka that does NOT put chicken on the pizza!!! As an Italian living in Kandy, and obsessed with Southern Italy pizza, every time I go to Colombo I try to stop here :-) Keep up the good job and if possible try to open a branch in Kandy, I will be your first client!!! :-)

anonymousbigfan

tidalbobo

@anonymousbigfan
"These hotel services are no where near to Oro", seriously?
If you mean Oro exceeds those other Hotels, I will agree with you.
Rather than a whine, I always think "value for money", not "value for brand/image"

Ken

I agree with anonymousbigfan….buffets are massively overrated. I'd prefer a freshly made a la carte meal any day. tidalbobo can stick to their mass produced mounds of food in generic 4* canteens and leave these well run, independent, authentic restaurants to those who don't mind paying for good service and great grub.

Ken

@serendipitious - I totally agree that that would help them to attract the Muslim consumers, but surely one of the beauties of these new independent places springing up around town is that they are not all the same? I truly believe that everyone should have the right to eat what they do or do not want (whether they are personal or religious beliefs), but that shouldn't mean that others are effectively starved of whatever that ingredient it. If they removed pork products from their menu they would also lose a significant number of consumers. This is, after all, an Italian restaurant.

what

Not sure why the writer describes the food as 'authentic'….the pizza toppings are very, very sparse and hardly even visible; nothing like pizza in Italy. We found it very over priced, with the same over-attentive SL service values (whipping away anything that looks even remotely depleted the instant you take your hand off it). On the upside, the owner was extremely friendly and the kids were allowed to have a look at how the pizzas were made. Would not go there again, though - there is no licence so we just drank water but it still cost more than a family trip to TGI Fridays that included alcohol and starters.

HappyGrumpus

YAMU is a bizarre mix of being very informative and downright childish.

Their food is quite good but definitely not authentic. And also ( as per the review) where in the world ( or Italy) has YAMU encountered a calzone that looked attractive presentation wise ? What is a presentable looking calzone ?

FRizzo

Tushani

TheFood

In my opinion the best part about this restaurant was the service. Then again you would expect nothing less from the owner. She is fantastic and very attentive. The food however was very much below average as there was hardly any toppings. In fact… with no exaggeration, I had 3 kan kun leaves (far from expensive) on my pizza with just tomato sauce and a few pieces of cheese. With the other pizza we ordered sausage and again hardly any of it was on the pizza. It seemed the sausage was only scattered in the middle of the pizza. You kind of have to wonder what you are paying for.

Fantastic ambiance and great service but I won't be going there in a hurry. Definitely would if prices reduced and the pizzas had toppings.

Foodie

Orro 1889 has a lovely ambience and friendly service, the food however is a bit of a let down. Taste wise it was alright, but they should consider putting more toppings on the pizza. The one we ordered was meant to have basil leaves, and there was just one leaf on the pizza! For the price one would expect more of the topping.
The wait for the pizza was over an hour!
However, the tiramisu was great!

Anonymous

finally proper food reviews by customers on your site. YAMU guys you really need to do this right. I used to really go by your recommendations but now it seems that the rich owners can buy any one. you seriously need to either eat authentic Italian pizza or visit Italy and know what's authentic and what's not before commenting. honestly loved the ambiance and service was good, but both won't fill your stomach. Pizza definitely needs more toping and it would make it so much better. I hated the Kankung pizza. I honestly don't know why this is number one on Tripadvisor.

HappyGrumpus

@ previous anonymous.
It ( and a couple of other) restaurants are ranked top on tripadvisor because many of the ratings are posted by OPWs.
They sign up purely to rate the place 5 stars, leave a wonder review, and are never seen on tripadvisor again. Makes you think hey…

Rohan de Silva

Overrated If you ask me. Nothing "exceptional" here. The beef meatballs were basically "tasteless". I just could not find any hint of spices in them. Only one of the pizzas were OK, but still I think the prices are too much for the quality. I mean I would not go there again.

Rohan de Silva

Also, after reading the the other comments, I must say I have to agree about the lack of toppings. Toppings are very "sparce". The salami pizza had very little or unnoticeable amount of salami. Very disappointing

SR

Sabrina

I have seen the comments below… guys, if the toppings are not too much or not enough "spicy", you better go to Pizza Hut for heavy toppings or to a local kade for spicy food. Italian pizzerias are like this, it is not the problem of this particular pizzeria. The most important thing is the dough, the cooking in the right oven and mixing the ingredients and toppings in order to combine them and discern them properly. It is not about putting 3 million ingredients on top, like pizza hut does or other american chains do.
The real original pizza is the Margherita, which is only fresh tomato, basil, extra virgin olive oil and mozzarella. End of the story. The problem is that not many foreigners can appreciate a real italian pizza, as they are used to overwhelm their palates with too many ingredients and at the end they won't discern the different tastes and combinations.
Having said that, buon appetito to those who want to experience the real italian pizza! :-)

HappyGrumpus

@SR
OPW : One Post Wonders. People who sign up to voting forums (such as TA) just for the sake of boosting the rank of an establishment. While the compliment might be genuine it doesn't reflect a real ranking system where either everyone rates every restaurant

Pizza Hut does Thin crust pizzas, I have tried many pizzas in Italy and I can say they are nothing like Oro 1889 pizza's, In Rome and Florence I ordered from 5 different places recommended by my family who frequently visit, they are very cheap (only 10 Euro for a big thin crust pizza) with lavish toppings and very authentic, unfortunately since my cravings persisted for Italian Pizza, I had to try this place and was utterly disappointing. I guess I won't be going there anytime soon unless they serve more toppings and make it THE original.

wiiegel

Last time I checked Rome and Milan are not in Naples, and as written in the review the pizzas served at Oro are Neapolitan pizzas. Simple, fresh ingredients. As Sabrina said the dough is what separates a good pizza from a great pizza, and these guys go as far as even importing the flour from Italy, a gutsy thing to do knowing the additional costs (shipping + duty). If you believe they should just use our local flour to save costs, you've already disqualified yourself from being a pizza connoisseur. There is no better place in Colombo for pizza, both for flavour and ambience.

As it says here, the authentic pizza must be made of San Marzano tomatoes, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius, and mozzarella di bufala Campana, made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state (this mozzarella is protected with its own European protected designation of origin)

It is possible to make very tasty pizza without it being authentic. The real authentic pizzas are usually the most boring vegetarian pizzas at the top of the menu of a pizzeria in Naples (or Italy)

Girlinagirdle

Big fans of Oro- genuinely the best pizza place in Colombo whatever the detractors say. Service struggles to keep up with demand but I'll keep going back because it's the only place pizza tastes like pizza should - and the BYO means you can drink decent wine rather than the vinegar served everywhere else. Keep going Oro!

skeptic

HotActionCop

Oro does not need to have a menu. Go to ORO if you want a plain cheese and tomato pizza. IF you are lucky there will be drops of toppings which you can see using a magnifying glass (bring one from home they don't provide) and a tongue as acute and sensitive as a professional tea taster. Also BYOS (S-sides) to eat with the ultra thick thick crust in the end.
Such a horrendous experience… total rip off……

While service was excellent and ambience was quite nice, food - the main reason one would go to a restaurant, was useless! There were hardly any topping on pizzas other than tomato sauce. Items we ordered based on recommendation and ones we picked by ourselves equally sucked. Will not even talk about prices as there was no value to compare with. I would take my own booze elsewhere.

curious

I haven't eaten here yet. Maybe the prices could be a lowered a little.

A lot of the comments show a dissatisfaction with the toppings, so I looked around and this is what I found about Neapolitan pizza;
"Neapolitan pizza or pizza Napolatena, is a type of pizza that originated in Naples, Italy. It's made from simple and fresh ingredients: a basic dough, raw tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and olive oil--no fancy toppings here. One of its defining characteristics is that there is often more sauce than cheese, leaving the middle of the pie wet or soggy."

So maybe whenever you visit a foreign food place, just keep an open mind and don't forget that our Sri Lankan food is Sri Lankan, because of all the spices and strong flavours, and that cannot be expected of Foreign food places. and that is why Italian food is ITALIAN and not Sri Lankan.

Shey

ranjith perera

Nitni

Visited here with 10 people on the 29th Sunday for dinner and it was nothing short of disappointing. The value for money is absolutely nil. Food while tasted good had barely any topping, and for those of you who are saying that's how an Italian pizza is, i was in Italy a week ago and their pizzas look nothing like this. Seriously save your money and visit a place like Michaelangelo. The night was so disappointing we left there hungry after paying 2100 per pizza for two people and it was called ( all meat ) and had barely 50 g of meat. Total rip off and absurd review by yamu as always .

NN

Went there yesterday just for the sake of trying something new. Absolute ripoff. I had been a regular visitor to Giovannis and expected something great than that establishment. Service etc is all fine, but the damn pizza and starter?? WTF was that?? Orro…i know the rental at Liberty plaza must be high, that does not mean you can serve ginger beer at 150 a bottle and pizza which has toppings which needs a magnifying glass to look for? Yamu…I went to this place based on your review. Total useless. AND…yes, i have had pizza's in Italy and other countries in Europe…i know what i am talking about.